The Orlando Magic forward sat down with Rich Kleiman of Boardroom to discuss the difference of playing the game in the postseason and how it differs from the regular season.
Paolo Banchero: Cooper Flagg ‘could fit in anywhere’
The former Duke star and current Orlando Magic forward sat down with Rich Kleiman of Boardroom to discuss the current Blue Devils phenom’s rise and why he could make an instant impact in the NBA.
Paolo Banchero: Measuring anybody to LeBron or MJ is ‘ridiculous’
The former Duke star and current Orlando Magic forward sat down with Rich Kleiman of Boardroom to discuss the game’s current set of stars and the upcoming group of players ready to take over the league.
Rays announce team ‘cannot move forward’ with new ballpark project in St. Petersburg
Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said the team intends to work out a solution that satisfies the Tampa-St. Petersburg region, MLB and the team.
Canucks Will Be Featured On First-Ever Hockey Day In Sweden
On Thursday, the NHL announced the creation of "Hockey Day in Sweden." The event will take place in Linköping, Sweden, on March 21 and 22. Part of the festivities will include a special presentation of the Vancouver Canucks versus New York Rangers game, which Niklas Holmgren and Jonatan Lindquist will commentate.
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Selecting the Canucks is a smart idea, as their roster is full of Swedish players, which includes Elias Pettersson and Marcus Pettersson. Vancouver also has a large amount of staff members from Sweden, including GM Patrik Allvin. As for the Rangers, they have Mika Zibanejad on their roster, who recently played beside Pettersson at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
🇸🇪 NHL to celebrate first-ever "Hockey Day in Sweden" March 21-22.
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) March 13, 2025
The city of Linköping will host the festivities including the NHL Global Fan Tour and a @Canucks vs. @NYRangers viewing party.
Info: https://t.co/mryLnkcXv5pic.twitter.com/xDXBVQt8Sd
The game itself should be emotional, as these two teams have made multiple trades over the past two months. Canucks fans will get to see J.T. Miller and Carson Soucy against, while fans in New York will have the opportunity to welcome back Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini. Both teams are also desperate for wins, which should make the game on March 22 must-watch television.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
‘It is not too dissimilar’: England’s Earl happy to make central switch if needed
- 6-2 bench split means Earl will provide cover at centre
- “Half the stuff I do is as a 12 anyway,’ says back-rower
Ben Earl has said he would take a shift to playing at centre against Wales in his stride on Saturday after Steve Borthwick revealed the back-rower is the first cab off the rank in the event of injury.
As England go in search of the bonus-point victory they are likely to need to keep their hopes of winning the Six Nations title alive, the head coach has opted for a 6-2 split on the bench. With three fly-halves in the squad, there is no obvious centre cover and Tommy Freeman is starting there for England for the first time.
Continue reading...No. 1 Duke’s Cooper Flagg shown in wheelchair after leaving ACC Tournament game with ankle injury
Duke star Cooper Flagg left his team's Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday with a left ankle injury and had to be helped to the locker room. The top-ranked Blue Devils were trailing by 26-17 late in the first half when Flagg went up for a rebound and crashed to the floor after he appeared to have his left foot land on the foot of Georgia Tech’s Darrion Sutton. After sitting on the bench for a few minutes, Flagg got up and put his arms around two teammates and was taken to the locker room for observation.
Can Celebrini vs. Bedard become NHL's next great rivalry?
Can Celebrini vs. Bedard become NHL's next great rivalry? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on X at @Sheng_Peng.
For the first time on Thursday, Macklin Celebrini will play against Connor Bedard.
It’s the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft versus the 2023 top pick, two North Vancouver boys who skated with each other when they were kids at North Shore Winter Club … and the NHL’s next great star rivalry?
“I don’t know if it’ll be the Crosby-Ovechkin,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said, “but it’ll be probably in that ballpark.”
Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin has been must-see TV for two decades, since Crosby was the 2005 first-overall pick and Ovechkin was the 2004 first overall.
But like Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals, both Celebrini’s Sharks and Bedard’s Chicago Blackhawks have a ways to go before they see each other in a meaningful game.
For the third consecutive season, San Jose and Chicago are vying for the No. 1 pick.
The 2024 Calder Trophy winner, in his second season in the cellar, had this advice for the 2025 Calder front-runner.
Read the full story on San Jose Hockey Now
(3-13-25) Blues-Penguins Gameday Lineup
The road trip continues for the St. Louis Blues (31-27-7), who go up against the Pittsburgh Penguins (26-31-10) from PPG Paints Arena on Thursday at 6 p.m (FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
It's the fifth of a season-long six-game road trip that has been broken up into two parts, with the Blues returning home following their 2-1 overtime loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, so they got to spend four nights in their own beds before finishing off the last two legs of the trip, which concludes Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
As for the standings, the Blues sit now two points behind the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks after those two teams settled their game on Wednesday in a shootout, with the Canucks winning 3-2. Also, the Utah Hockey Club won, 3-2 against the Anaheim Ducks and pulled even with the Blues, so four teams are separated by two points in a logjam for the second wild card in the Western Conference. St. Louis, Vancouver and Utah all have 17 games remaining, Calgary has 18.
The Blues, according to coach Jim Montgomery, have done a good job of just living in the moment, which has enabled them to shave seven points off their deficit when they came back from the 4 Nations Face-Off, going 6-1-2 playing nine games in 15 days; they are 7-1-2 in the last 10.
"Since the break has started, every game has been important for us to be in the situation that we are, so we had to do the job early," Montgomery said. "Now we just need to continue on that path. It doesn't matter who we're playing. We've seen our next opponent, Pittsburgh just beat Vegas (3-2 in overtime), so we've got to be focused on that next task at hand and bring that same attitude of we're going to stay in the moment, we're going to have a great start, and then we're going to worry about the next shift, then we're going to worry about the next period and then we're going to worry about the 60 minutes.
"With that, we know the schedule is favorable right now. We're going to play two teams where we're going to playing back-to-backs again where they are not. They are rested waiting for us, so there's another challenge that's coming within that time frame. I think we're in the midst of starting (10) in 17 days."
Tonight does begin another tough stretch of games clustered into limited days, which includes three in the next four days where the Blues come home from Minnesota Saturday after a 7 p.m. start and play against the Ducks at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
- - -
With the team rolling, the only lineup change is Cam Fowler, who missed Saturday for the birth of his son, will return and go in for Matthew Kessel, and Jordan Binnington, who has won six straight starts and is 7-0-1 the past eight games he's started, will start in goal.
Also, forward Jordan Kyrou will play in his 400th NHL game tonight.
- - -
Blues Projected Lineup:
Jake Neighbours-Robert Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph-Oskar Sundqvist-Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler-Nick Leddy
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter-Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Alexandre Texier and Matthew Kessel. Colton Parayko (knee) is out. Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.
- - -
Penguins Projected Lineup:
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Connor Dewar-Evgeni Malkin-Philip Tomasino
Danton Heinen-Kevin Hayes-Emil Bemstrom
Bokondji Imama-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Vladislav Kolyachonok-Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Conor Timmins
Tristan Jarry will start in goal; Alex Nedeljkovic will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Matt Nieto and Sebastian Aho. P.O Joseph (upper body), Tommy Novak (lower body) and Ryan Shea (upper body) are out.
Oliver Miller, center who helped Arkansas reach Final Four and played 9 NBA seasons, dies at 54
Miller was drafted by Phoenix in 1992 with the No. 22 overall pick. He went on to average 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Suns.
Football Daily | Zinchenko and a deep respect for a loan spell in 2017-18
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While the first-leg shellacking Arsenal dished out to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands meant that Wednesday night’s return leg was predictably low on drama, there was at least one moment of highly performative nonsense for fans at the Emirates to enjoy. Handed a rare start by Mikel Arteta, Oleksandr Zinchenko repaid his manager by firing his side ahead with a terrific strike but very pointedly refused to celebrate his first ever Bigger Cup goal for reasons that initially seemed to baffle his own teammates, PSV’s players, both sets of supporters and anyone like Football Daily with so little going on in their life that they’d tuned in to watch this 90-minute long foregone conclusion unfold on TV.
Continue reading...USC keeps season alive with double-OT win over Rutgers in Big Ten tourney
In some ways, USC's Big Ten tournament opener Wednesday was a lot like this basketball season as a whole -- the Trojans flashed their compelling potential before seeming to run out of steam on the way to what looked like a deflating finish. After letting a 15-point lead entirely slip away as Rutgers led by 4 points inside the final 30 seconds, the Trojans came through with the defensive stops they needed, two Wesley Yates free throws and a clutch driving layup from Desmond Claude to tie the game and force overtime. It would take two extra periods, but No. 14-seeded USC eventually found a final surge while pulling away from No. 11 Rutgers for a 97-89 double-overtime win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Surging NHL Sophomore Adam Fantilli Fuels The Blue Jackets' Playoff Drive
The Columbus Blue Jackets emerged in the NHL this season in more ways than one.
Three-quarters into the season, the Blue Jackets find themselves in a playoff spot with a legitimately good chance of holding on and getting into the post-season.
Sean Monahan re-emerged as well by logging 41 points in 41 games as the Blue Jackets’ top center until he got injured on Jan. 7.
Since then, sophomore Adam Fantilli elevated his game to another level. He became a point-per-game center who can take over a shift – and a game – when he’s most needed.
For Columbus to hold off the rest of the pack in the battle for the wild-card spots, Fantilli must continue to fuel its playoff drive.
Fantilli has 23 points in 23 games with 12 goals over the span, highlighted by a hat trick against the New York Rangers last weekend. That massive performance came in a pivotal game that held off the Rangers and solidified the Blue Jackets’ playoff standing.
Hatty for Fantilli 🤩
— NHL (@NHL) March 10, 2025
Adam Fantilli records his second three-goal performance of the season!
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUSpic.twitter.com/toSz76rbdv
Since Monahan’s wrist injury on Jan. 7, Fantilli has scored at a rate of 2.66 points per 60 minutes at even strength, according to evolving-hockey.com. That ranks Fantilli in the top 25 NHL players who have played at least 300 minutes (roughly top-six forward minutes) over that period. Only Matvei Michkov (2.85) and Will Smith (2.7) have scored at a higher rate over that time among under-21 talent, and both have played significantly smaller roles for their teams, barely meeting the 300-minute criteria.
Fantilli’s rocked a 66-percent goal share since becoming the Blue Jackets' No. 1 center, outscoring his opponents 31-16 since Jan. 7. While that’s largely due to the step he’s taken offensively, his defensive game’s massively improved as well, which coach Dean Evason noticed.
“I wish there were inside looks at where he was at the start of the year and how his commitment to playing the game the right way, how his commitment to playing defense, is commitment to being a good leader and teammate (have grown),” Evason told reporters on Monday.
Fantilli has always had the skating and strength to be a dominant two-way force, but his mental development is most notable. He’s tracking play much more effectively in his own zone, filling gaps in the middle of the ice and battling for loose pucks down low. When he gets the puck back on his stick, he’s showing off the explosive skating and transition ability up ice that he’s been known for.
If the Blue Jackets will make the playoffs, it will be because Fantilli – and other youngsters Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, and Dmitri Voronkov – continue their strong play. But if Fantilli maintains his pace from the last 23 games, we could see him surpass the 30-goal and 60-point plateau as a 20-year-old.
Playing upward of 20 minutes on most nights, Fantilli’s asserting himself as the centerpiece for the Blue Jackets' run toward the playoffs. He is showing why there was the conversation about him being a first-overall caliber player in his draft year, even though he eventually went third overall after Connor Bedard (CHI) and Leo Carlsson (ANA).
He’s been a force of nature in every league he’s played in whether it was the GTHL, the USHL or the NCAA. Fantilli is on his way to becoming an everyday impact player in the NHL.
What could be the greatest era in Columbus Blue Jackets hockey is emerging. Fantilli will be an instrumental part of that.
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From Shaq to Zion: Which past men’s college basketball legends would have earned the most money in the modern NIL era?
A poll of NIL experts revealed who they think would have made the most money if they played in the NIL era.
Sabonis out for Kings vs. Warriors game with hamstring injury
Sabonis out for Kings vs. Warriors game with hamstring injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Kings are ready to bounce back from an ugly home loss Monday night, but they’ll have to do so without their star center.
Domantas Sabonis, who originally was questionable for Sacramento’s NorCal showdown Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, will miss his sixth consecutive game with a Grade 1 hamstring strain.
Sabonis was cleared for on-court activity Saturday and practiced with the team Wednesday, but the team likely is being cautious with his return.
Kings backup big man Jonas Valančiūnas, who has stepped up in that starting role in Sabonis’ absence, likely will get the start against the Warriors.
Before his injury, Sabonis was averaging 19.5 points on 59.6-percent shooting from the field and 43.2 percent from 3-point range, with a league-leading 14.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 56 games this season.
In five games without Sabonis, Valančiūnas, who the Kings acquired at this year’s trade deadline, is averaging 13.4 points on 50.9 percent shooting, with 12.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in five games.
Kings forward/center Trey Lyles is questionable with left leg soreness, and Jake LaRavia was upgraded from questionable to available for Thursday’s game.
For Golden State, Jonathan Kuminga, who has missed the last 31 games with a nagging ankle sprain, is listed as probable. Gary Payton II was upgraded to available, and Brandin Pódziemski is out with a bilateral back strain.
The Warriors (37-28), who have won five consecutive games and 10 of their last 11, sit in the Western Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed entering Thursday’s contest.
The Kings (33-31), who are coming off a 133-104 blowout home loss to the New York Knicks, currently are ninth in the West.